X360 to cost around $300

Microsoft corporate vice president J Allard has confirmed that the Xbox 360 will be priced "in the neighbourhood" of $300, which was the initial launch price of the Xbox, with a final decision on price to be made in about two months.

Speaking to TheStreet.com, Allard said that he was "not sure" about the final price point, with a decision on pricing still "probably about two months away" - but confirmed that the price would "be in the neighbourhood" of the $300 price tag of Xbox at launch.

Current speculation regarding Sony's price point for PlayStation 3, meanwhile, suggests that it will arrive at under 40,000 Yen - pointing to a figure which matches the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation's launch prices of 39,800 Yen (294 Euro).

Regarding the exact date on which the Xbox 360 will arrive, Allard refused to be drawn - sticking to the oft-repeated games industry mantra of "when it's done" and stating that the full logistics of the worldwide launch have yet to be worked out.

"We're going to do something that's really unprecedented in the industry by launching the console in all three major markets for the same holiday," he commented. "It's never been done before. So, that's some of the logistics that we're working through now."

Microsoft isn't the first company to plan a simultaneous worldwide console launch; Sony originally announced that the PlayStation Portable would launch worldwide in November 2004, but serious production difficulties and stock shortages led to the US launch being delayed to late March, with the European launch set for September 1st.